If The Acolyte gets more seasons, Darth Plagueis and Sidious might be part of the larger story

In spite of its shortcomings, we've been largely enjoying The Acolyte. For the most part, it's a fascinating look into an entirely new era of the Star Wars galaxy and a re-evaluation of who the Jedi are and where their downfall came from. Now, just one week ahead of the season one finale, creator and showrunner Leslye Headland is opening up about where the story might go next.

Nerdist's interview with Headland, where we've found some interesting answers to burning fan questions, assumes you've watched episode seven already, so huge spoiler warning before diving into the conversation's most interesting chunks just in case.

From the very beginning, even before the show was shooting, the showrunner has expressed how much of a nerd she really is, and that extends beyond the limits of Star Wars lore and deep into Elden Ring. As a direct result, the press is focusing on in-universe questions over the actual process of making the show, which has been highlighted well enough by Lucasfilm and Disney during the marketing campaign.

'Choice' was inevitably a very packed episode, as it was basically tasked with delivering tons of answers to the show's biggest questions. Moreover, it cut even deeper into Star Wars lore, dealing with the daunting concept of vergences in the Force and even the Great Hyperspace Disaster, the event that kicked off the High Republic-era books and comics. On top of all that, the witches living on Brendok got to show off some of their witchy powers and things got creepy and messy really quick. The entire conversation is worth a read if you're currently absorbed by the contorted story being told.

About Qimir and his potential alignment and role in the history of the dark siders, which might not be Sith-related after all, the site directly asked Headland whether Qimir had connections to the Knights of Ren, a group of dark side worshippers who were terribly underused in the sequel trilogy of movies, but found much more success and became a bigger part of the galaxy in comic books and novels. Headland, who's been clearly drawing inspiration from pretty much everywhere across Star Wars history, was shaken by the question: "It’s a really good theory. What an interesting theory. What an amazing…that’s... wow. Wow wow." Place your bets now.

Last but not least, the matter of the actual Sith Lords also came up. We might yet meet a bigger baddie in this season, as fans are well aware the Sith Order had simply downsized and was staying quieter for centuries and into The Phantom Menace, but Walsh's question was instead aimed at trying to learn if there was any interest in exploring Darth Plagueis and Sidious' relationship and evildoing in the decades leading up to Episode I of the movies. Whether Headland gets a chance to tell the whole story or not, it seems like she's got a pretty clear vision for the ambitious 'how the bad guys undermined the Republic and the Jedi Order' storyline: "Yes, I do. If I continue to get to tell this story, I know how I would like that to play out. And I would say I think it’s pretty complicated and messy."

Even before its season one finale, Star Wars: The Acolyte has twisted the plot and thrown its characters around so much that it's gonna end in a very different place from where it started, and I mean that as a genuine compliment. I've had my fair share of issues with the series as a whole, but I'm now, as the kids say, 'locked in' and ready to see what's next. Please, renew it already. We collectively need more bad guys being both immensely hot and evil on-screen.